Bombardier CEO says financing in good shape despite CSeries delay

A plane flies over a Bombardier plant in Montreal, January 21, 2014. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc does not need to refinance to complete the development of its $3.9 billion CSeries jet program, the Canadian train and plane maker’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

“We don’t think we need to (do a debt refinancing). Last year we raised C$2 billion (US$1.8 billion) in January. It’s an airplane development program. Sometimes we get criticized for having too much liquidity, I said we need to plan for possible delays,” Chief Executive Pierre Beaudoin told Reuters in Davos at the World Economic Forum.

“I think when we present our numbers in mid February, you will see that we are in good shape to complete our program.”

Investor concern over Bombardier funding intensified with Bombardier’s fourth CSeries delay last week and news on Tuesday that it would cut 1,700 aerospace jobs as it strives to conserve cash.

Development costs for the narrow-body CSeries could rise by as much as $1 billion, at least one analyst estimated, at a time when Bombardier is investing heavily in the all-new Learjet 85, also delayed, and its Global 7000 and 8000 business jets.

The CSeries will not enter commercial service until the second half of 2015 because it needs more testing, the company said, pushing back an earlier target of late 2014.

Montreal-based Bombardier is expected to detail additional costs from the delay with its fourth-quarter financial results due on February 13.